Doomed
by Blue-PaperTiger
Summary: It's been two weeks since the events of the movie took place and UAC has sent another team to investigate the Mars facility and John tags along to save the day. Enjoy! Please R&R!
1. Chapter One: The New RRTS

**Chapter One: The New RRTS**

* * *

John Grimm, Sam Grimm, Sarge and the UAC Facility do not belong to me but Tessa Rains, her team and the forensic scientists do. 

Enjoy!

Please R&R!

**

* * *

**

The red light came on and the contents of the transporter chopper went silent. Clips were punched

into rifles and minds focused. She kept her head down, eyes sharpening on the situation ahead. She

couldn't bring herself to tell her men that only one man made it out alive from the last RRTS that had

responded. Two survivors out of ninety-three. _UAC must have been doing some weird things up _

_there if it wiped out eighty-four scientists and seven marines. But that matters is that we get _

_the research and protect the scientist investigation team who are in charge of finding out what_

_ happened. _The chopper bumped down onto the helipad and they moved out. The scientist team

stood near the elevator waiting looking nervous holding forensic bags. She stepped ahead of her team

and over to the four edgy scientists.

"I'm Sergeant Tessa Rains. Me and my team are in charge of keeping you guys safe down there.

When I say do something, you do it or you're on your own."

Tessa's team levelled up behind her as she waited for the response. There was a hesitated nod from

each scientist.

"Good."

She raised her rifle in one hand and turned her head to the side.

"Check your weapons, men."

She checked hers too, two nine millimetre Uzis in the underarm holsters, pump action shotgun on the

left thigh holster, desert eagle in the right belt holster, and assault rifle over shoulder with clips in

several different pockets covering her person. The sound of cranking metal followed by Tessa pulling

one of the scientist's off the raising ground of the elevator. Then just as she stepped towards the

elevator door a bullet shot past her head and ricocheted off the door to the ground. Her team turned

and aimed at the shooter.

"You can't go down there!"

Tessa turned and walked through her men towards the stranger.

"I'm guessing you're John Grimm then?"

"Good guess."

"So why shouldn't I follow orders and take my team down there?"

"Cos your team won't get back out alive."

* * *


	2. Chapter Two: The UAC Facility

**Chapter Two: The UAC Facility**

* * *

She shifted her weight onto her other leg and sharpened her eyes on him. The wind caught a loose bit 

of hair that hadn't gone into the plait and blew it in front of her face. He was handsome, she couldn't

deny that, and part of her wanted to do what he said but she had a job to do and no matter how

gorgeous the guy was it wasn't going to stop her.

"I don't have time for this."

She turned, her head being last in facing away from him, and started towards the elevator door. Her

team still had their rifle trained on him as he watched her walk away. He frowned before glancing at

the guns aimed at him and walking away.

"Damn it."

The door slid open as she approached.

"Erm, Sarge?"

"What is it Jakes?"

"Shouldn't we listen to that guy? He was in the first team down there after all."

"Jakes? How many assignments have you been on with me?"

"…three."

"Have you died yet?"

"Well, no but…"

"Well then, trust me on this. We'll be fine."

* * *

"They're gonna get themselves killed." 

"If they want to go down there let'em."

John shifted on his feet a few times, looking frustrated at what the person on the other side of the

phone had to say.

"Sam…"

"No John! It's not our problem anymore."

"Damn it, Sam! It'll be everyone's problem if those things manage to get to the surface."

"You're on leave. Let the team down there deal with it. We have to try and put it in the past now."

"Are you serious!"

He slammed the phone down.

* * *

The elevator down opened and the smell of dried blood and rotting bodies hit them like a brick wall. 

"Woah fuck! That's nasty!"

"Radnor. Shut up."

"Yes, Sarge."

Lights flickered dimly as they stepped out and scoped the area. Silence. They looked round to see

the occasional bunch of corpses that looked like they had been ravished to the point of being

unidentifiable by some kind of animal.

"Holy crap. What the fuck happened here!"

"That's what we're here to find out, Radnor. Now shut up."

* * *


	3. Chapter Three: So It Begins

**Chapter Three: So It Begins…**

* * *

John forced the elevator doors at the surface open and looked down at the long fall 

below him.

"These guys better be worth saving."

He leapt into the elevator shaft, holding on to the cables and sliding down. His rifle

dangling by his side with the strap over his shoulder.

* * *

Her team scoped out the surrounding space while she stood and looked down at a seven 

year old looking boy with half his face bitten off and his entrails splattered up the wall

behind him. She tried to hide the disgust from her face as she turned away to look at the

scientists. Just as she was about to say something a shadow shot across the wall.

"Radnor, Phillips. Check it out, and be careful."

This place was starting to creep her out. The rest of her team reported back to her when

rifle fire and shouting echoed out.

"Fuck."

She ran in the direction of the sound and turned a corner to see Phillips being dragged

off round a corner with his bottom jaw missing. Radnor lay on the floor next to her

against a wall half unconscious. She pulled him up right and checked him for any major

wounds before looking over in the direction that Phillips was pulled off in to spot his

jaw on the ground. Grimacing and turning back to Radnor she slapped him a few times

round the face trying to wake him up. Her team scoped the area then looked down at

Radnor. Another shadow traces the wall quickly.

"Jakes, get Radnor on his feet and find out what happened here."

Tessa stands and looks over at the wall the shadow just shifted over.

"Pair off. Scope out this entire place, I want to know what the FUCK that thing is!"

* * *

John steps out of the elevator doors and scopes round to see the scientists huddled up 

across the room from him and Tessa standing guarding them. He steps to the side so the

elevator door closes and he starts checking for any other forms of life.

"Back to the elevator…now."

He looks over to see the scientists heading his way followed by Sergeant Rains so he

ducks round a corner, staying out of sight and silent.

* * *

She was getting fed up of babysitting these bloody scientists now. They are meant to be 

trained to be able to look after themselves a little bit at least but they were clinging to

her like a baby ape. The sound of shuffling feet heading her way caused her to think of

the situation in hand. The silhouette of a man made its way over to her slowly from a

dark corridor.

"Sir? Are you alright? Sir?"

She forced her eyes to focus on the man's features to see that his cheek had been ripped

open and half of his ribcage was missing along with his organs.

"Holy shit."

* * *


	4. Chapter Four: The Missing

**Chapter Four: The Missing**

* * *

The remains of the man lurched forward, ready to fall off his feet. She kept her gun 

trained on him though she doubted he'd be of any threat. The man continued to shuffle

towards her until he was within a few feet. There was blood dripping from his mouth

and his hands were drenched in the stuff. He suddenly threw himself mouth first at

her, dribbling. Tessa gave him a hole in the forehead before his mouth could come in

contact with anyone. The man slumped to the floor in front of her, twitching his arm

slightly.

"Fuck."

John walked over to her from past the wall he'd been hiding behind.

"Hold your fire, it's me."

She lowered her gun to her side from its position of aiming straight at his nose. She did

not look too pleased to see him.

"What the hell are you doing here!"

"You wouldn't listen to me so it looks like I'm coming along for the ride."

She glanced at the scientists who were now pretty much shitting themselves at the state

of the man she'd just shot. She frowned at him. He wasn't supposed to be here, now she

has an extra pair of boots to worry about.

"Trust me. You won't get out alive without me."

Tessa sighed, half growling as she did. She hated to admit it but he was the only one of

his team to get back out alive. John just stared at her and waited to hear what the plan

was.

"Follow me…" she looked back at John, "all of you."

She made her way down the main corridor, checking each side corridor gun first.

"Where are you going?"

"To the Ark."

"What? You need to get you and your team back to the elevator and out of here!"

She stopped dead and turned sharply to look at him.

"Are you in charge here?"

"No but I…"

"Well then. You may have the experience down here but I am still the commanding

officer."

She turned back round and sighed heavily. _Some people are just plain difficult._ She

continued forward, checking down side corridors when she thought she saw movement

in the darkness.

"John. Look after the herd of scientists, I'm checking this corridor out."

* * *

The corridor was pitch black. The emergency red lights had cut out and the only small 

source of light was coming from the main corridor. She couldn't hear anything but her

own breath and boot steps.

* * *

_Why does nobody listen?_ He looked at the scientists, they were huddled together and 

shaking with fear. John shook his head, these guys aren't trained to deal with this kind of

situation.

"Back to the elevator, now."

As he turned to follow the scientists Phillips' corpse fell to the floor in front of him in one

bloody mess. There was chunks missing, big chunks.

"Holy shit!"

He looked up at the scientists who now all looked ready to run in any direction away

from the body.

"To the elevator! Move!"

He put a hole in Phillips' head before running with the scientists to the only way out.

* * *

There was something in the air, something rotten and moist. She tried to force her eyes 

to focus but to no avail. It was way too damn dark. Then a pair of eyes opened in front

of her and stared straight at her. Somehow they were glowing in this darkness.

"Hello?"

The eyes started to move forward towards her, but there was no footsteps, no sound, just

those eyes.

"I'm with the RRTS that's been sent down here, we're here to help."

The eyes didn't respond in any way, they just kept moving forward. She started stepping

backwards away from them slowly, tightening her grip on her assault rifle. She still

couldn't hear any noise but her own breath and boot steps. Tessa raised her gun and

aimed at the eyes.

"Halt!"

They continued to move forward as she moved back.

"Don't make me shoot you."

The eyes stop moving forward and sharpen on her before three more pairs open around

the first pair and look at her. Her eyes widened and she was able to take one more step

back before the owner of the many eyes lunges at her and threw her into the main

corridor. The air was knocked out of her when it landed on top of her. It was big, ugly

and drooling. Its breath smelt of blood and skin. It lifted its large arm and she noticed

that its nails looked as sharp as razor blades. Razor blades that were about to slice her

face off. Tessa managed to get her feet under it and kicked it off and over her head. She

body rolled to her feet and turned, firing at thin air, only the glimpse of a shadow

disappearing round and into another corridor.

* * *

John heard the gun shots and sped up, skidding round the corner to see Tessa bending 

over leaning on her knees out of breath.

"Are you okay?"

She turned her head to the side to look at him.

"What… the FUCK was that!"

"A demon."

She stood up straight and turned to face him.

"What?"

"Well, demon is the closest word to it. Are you wounded?"

She gave him a look that said 'you're insane' before turning her back to him.

"No, I'm fine."

The sound of rifle fire and screaming echoed towards them from somewhere in the

facility. Tessa put her hand to her ear piece.

"Who the hell's firing? Speak to me!"

There was no response. She pulled her shotgun out of its holster and loaded it. She

glanced at John before running towards the source of the noise. John ran after her. As

they got closer the sounds got louder and louder until they suddenly stopped dead and

everywhere went silent. They ran round the corner and skidded to a halt to see one of

those things holding Radnor in mid air with its tongue attached to his throat.

"NO!"

She lifted her shotgun and blew half of its head off against a wall in one shot. It flopped

to the floor messily, its brains pouring out onto the floor next to where it had dropped

Radnor. She ran over to him and put her hand over the hole in his neck putting pressure

it, trying to stop as much blood from spilling out as possible.

"Fuck."

Her eyes darted around the room wildly as she tried to think of what to do before

stopping and realizing something.

"Where the hell's Jakes!"

* * *


	5. Chapter Five: Realisation

**Chapter Five: Realisation**

* * *

All the shouting, screaming and shooting had stopped now. Everything was silent. Only

thing to be heard was Tessa's angered breathes and Radnor's blood dripping to the floor.

John looked down at her.

"Listen Sergeant, this man has been infected. He'll turn into one of those things soon."

She looked up at him and then back down at the now dead Radnor before shaking her

head.

"You need to put him out of his misery."

Tessa stood up and walked over to a pillar on the opposite side of the corridor.

"I'm sorry."

Once she reached the wall she threw her entire body into a punch, and then leaned her

head on the wall. _How could I let this happen?_ She took a deep breath to clear her

thoughts and then turned and pulled her desert eagle out of its holster and put a bullet in

Radnor's head.

"Those things, they… choose who to infect. If you have a history of violence or

psychotic behaviour, it'll infect you, if not it'll just kill you."

She holstered her gun and leaned back on the pillar, propping her foot up on it.

"Great. So either way we're screwed."

Her voice was heavy with anger and frustration. She took in a deep breath and lifted her

head to look at John.

"If you get infected and you're not a psycho, you become superhuman."

Tessa pushed her propped foot against the wall so she wasn't leaning on it anymore and

put her hand to her ear piece.

"Is there anyone left? Get back to the elevator. You hear me? Get back to the elevator!"

"There won't be anyone left."

She growled and grabbed him by the scruff and slammed him against the nearest wall.

John looked at her face, she was only half angry. He put his hand on her shoulder. All the

anger bubbled down to despair and she half flopped to the ground, her head hanging.

"They were all good men."

She flopped down to sitting on a step holding her head in her hands. John sat down next

to her, he knew there was nothing he could say that could comfort her so he just put his

arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"What the hell does UAC want from down here anyway?"

"They probably want C24."

She sat up and looked at him curiously. He took his arm from round her and leaned them

on his knees and looked forward into a dark corridor.

"Chromosome 24, it's what you get infected with. I should know, I was injected with a

vile of it."

She stood up and turned to face him.

"I'm guessing you're not a nut job then."

"Guess not."

John stood and looked at her. She realised he was at least a good head taller then her.

Tessa took her rifle into hand.

"Let's get outta here."

* * *

They ran threw the corridors, guns aiming at any possible point of attack. The elevator 

came into view ahead of them.

"Shit."

They stopped at the elevator doors.

"I sent the forensics team up, they should be at the surface by now."

"Where the hell's my team?"

She looked in every direction but there was no one to be seen. He glanced at her and then

looked round himself. Nothing. She stopped turning to look at John.

"I can't leave my team down here."


	6. Chapter Six: Rescue Or Trap?

**Chapter Six: Rescue or Trap?**

* * *

"Your team may already be dead. Are any of them responding?"

Tessa put her hand to her ear piece.

"Come in. Anyone. Answer."

There was a short silence before the small receiver responded in her ear.

"Sergeant… it broke my leg, I can't move."

"Where is it now?"

"I don't know, it ran off somewhere."

She looked at John hopefully.

"Who is it?"

"It's Jakes. He has a broken leg, can't move."

She seemed ecstatic to know at least one person from her team had survived, like a little

girl at Christmas, eyes buzzing with electricity.

"Where is he?"

She nodded, remembering that she actually had to find him.

"Where are you?"

"Erm… I don't know, near the Ark somewhere, I can see it in front of me."

"Okay, we're coming for you," she lifted her rifle ready, "hold in there Jakey boy."

"You stay behind me, okay?"

Tessa stopped mid step, turning to look at John with an eyebrow raised, her mouth open

and slightly cocked up to one side. She flicked her eyes around a few times as she

questioned his commanding over before turning back round.

"We stay level. You take left, I'll take right. Okay?"

* * *

They stuck to the walls of the corridor, flicking their rifles round each corner as they did. 

John was checking each direction at high speed, more of a blur than a movement. She

glanced at him, his speed making her double take at him.

"It makes you faster too then?"

She continued forward keeping her eyes in that direction as well.

"Super strong, super fast, and I heal almost instantly."

She looked back to him with wide eyes and a slight smile on her lips.

"Well, at least some people get it easy."

He looked at her and they both smiled as their eyes met. Tessa shook her head while

smiling as she turned her attention back to the corridor ahead. John kept his eyes on her

for a moment, lingering on her looks. She had honey brown eyes that were just as sweet,

brown hair plaited to her shoulder blades, her pale skin contrasted her eyes perfectly

making both more noticeable. She didn't have huge lips both neither were they tiny, and

a dark plum pink. She was something beautiful in such an ugly place.

* * *

They slowed as the Ark came into view, becoming silent so not to attract any attention to 

themselves. She could see Jake sat up against a pillar on the opposite side of the Ark to

them. Tessa's eyes sharpened on the target ahead. She looked to John and he nodded at

her in response. She took position to cover him as he ran out and over to Jakes before

following across. John knelt down next to the wounded soldier, he was covered in blood.

She stopped and leaned against the wall, looking round before crouching down on the

other side of Jakes.

"Where are you bleeding?"

Jakes looked at her slightly confused, clearly the pain was making him daze off. She

checked him over. No cuts.

"Whose blood is this, Jakes?" he looked down at himself and his eyes widened.

He looked back up at her, finally snapping out of his little dream world state.

"Where are the others?"

She looked to John and John looked at her before standing up and turning away to keep

an eye out. Tessa lowered her head then looked at Jakes.

"They didn't make it."

"I knew we should have listened to him! He knew! He knew what came threw the Ark! He knew…."

John turned and looked at her.

"Jakes, SHUT UP!"

The entire facility went silent. Tessa stood up and looked at John, he did not look at all

happy at what Jakes had said.

"Why, exactly, were you and your team sent down here to do?"

"UAC were monitoring this place from up top. Two hours ago something came threw the

Ark."

The expression on John's face sunk down to complete disbelief. _I thought I'd blown the _

_other side of it to pieces. What the hell came threw? Even if the Ark survived it would be _

_useless. _Tessa left him to his thoughts, he clearly needed to go threw things in his head.

She crouched back down next to Jakes.

"We're getting outa here. Now."

She stood back up as Jakes looked at her, he clearly trusted her as his commanding

officer, he just didn't trust this place, or getting out of it alive and in one piece. Jakes eye

shifted slightly to just past her head, his face froze in cold fear. The darkness behind her

started to growl deeply. The snarl drifted past her ear and the strength and closeness of

the breath made a few strands of hair blow forward. Something was waiting in the

darkness, only inches behind her.


	7. Chapter Seven: Faithful To The Core

**Chapter Seven: Faithful To The Core**

* * *

Slowly, Tessa got to her feet, tightening her grip on her rifle. The rumbling from behind 

her sent shivers down her spine it was so close behind her. She turned and tried to lift her

rifle but the creature had her face grasped in it's oily hands before she could level it. She

was lifted off her feet and pulled into the shadows before John or Jakes could do

anything.

"No!"

John half ran half sprung into the shadows after them. The creature turned its head

sharply before throwing her against the opposite wall like a child with a rag doll, no

longer interested. Tessa slammed off the wall and to the ground with an agonizing crunch

of bones breaking within her. There were gashes down her face from where the creature

had grabbed and thrown her. Her vision was blurred slightly as she lay cheek to the

ground, unable to move for lack of energy and hope.

* * *

The creature turned to completely face John, looking at him blankly before the skin 

pulled back from its teeth and it growled from its throat. It swung its arm round at John

with blind fury and knocking him back into the Ark centre. It walked out from under the

balcony with a cocky swagger that seemed familiar to John but he just couldn't place

where from. The creature slammed its fist into Jakes face, caving his skull in entirely, an

instant death. John's eyes widened at the sight of Jakes' brains and chunks of bone

dripped to the floor from the now headless corpse propped up against the pillar. The

creature walked out into better light to reveal a metal bar wrapped round its right arm.

* * *

Tessa opened her eyes just in enough time to see the remains of Jakes' head splattered 

across the floor in front of her. She shifted her vision up to the murderer in question and

then to John getting to his feet behind it. The metal bar reflecting some of the light caught

her eye. _I have to do something!_ She tried to speak but all that came out was blood.

* * *

"Sarge?" 

John stood up, staring at the creature's left arm and the accessory of a metal bar attached.

"I thought I blew you away."

The only response he got from the creature was its fists clenching and another glare of its

rotten teeth. John knew this was going to be twice as hard as last time. His eyes suddenly

caught glimpse of movement in the shadows behind the monster that was once Sarge.

Just at the moment that Sarge was about to strike out at John a pair of boots slammed him

in the back of the head. Tessa came rolling down next to him, staggering slightly as she

lands. They met glances before she lifted her shotgun and blew the Sarge's right arm, bar

included.

"Just evening the odds out."

She managed a whisper of her words followed by a wary smile before collapsing to the

floor. She saw John's expression turn from distress to sheer fury before her head hit the

ground. She went numb all over. The last thing she could make out before everything

went black was John running towards the creature.

* * *

John knelt down beside her and picked her head up off the floor. Tessa was paling to a 

dead grey skin and icy cold to the touch. John knew she didn't have long left. He looked

down to see her left ribcage had been ripped wide open so that her lung could be seen

working underneath. He picked her up into his arms before looking over to the twitching

corpse of the creature that Sarge had become. He turned in a circle, trying to remember

the quickest way to the infirmary and was jump-started into action when a small wheeze

came from the limp body in his arms. As John ran threw corridors Tessa's eyes flickered

in recognition as she tried to regain consciousness. He tried to hold her close while he ran

but not too close so that he squeezed the air out of her lungs. He slowed once he came to

the infirmary and lay her on a operating table. _Shoulda been a doctor. Woulda seen less _

_blood. _John looked over at the nano wall that had once contained Carmack, the scientist

that started it all. It was empty now, no rotting remains, the others must have seen to it as

an easy lunch. The nano wall however was functioning as normal, as if there had never

been a horrific cock-up of nature. Tessa's eyes rolled open and her mouth twitched as all

the pain came rushing back like an eight wheeler truck hitting a baby deer on the

freeway. John searched round for something, anything to help ease the pain. After

pushing a huge pile of paperwork off a work top he found a vile of C24 and some

morphine. Hate to mix those up. He emptied the small vile of morphine into a clean

needle and went about to find a suitable vein in her arm. After pumping the morphine

into her arm he sat up on the table and gently fingered some loose strands of hair off her

face. Her eyes were glazing over slowly and he knew he was losing her. The infirmary

completely still, silent and eerily illuminated. John kept his eyes on her face, watching

the life and colour drain from her features, becoming a gravestone grey. Her once plum

red lips had faded down to a pinkish white. _I can't let this happen, I just can't._ He looked

up to see the vile of C24 on the desk across the room from them. He got off the table, still

staring at the vile. Suddenly a thunderous pounding started coming from just behind the

nano wall. No second chances. He walked over to the desk, picking the vile up and took

up another clean needle. The pounding grew harder and louder like a child stomping up

the stairs. John looked up and over to the nano wall to see it starting to flicker, it was

going to fail soon under the relentless hammering. Tessa's breathing had fizzled down to

almost nothing. He picked her arm up and put the needle into her vein gently, trying not

to be panicked by the beating. Every hit on the wall made it fizzle, making the creatures

visible for a split second. John pushed the last millilitre of the liquid into her blood

system before the nano wall sizzled out completely and the pounding stopped.

* * *

Tessa's head flopped down to the side and her eyes rolled open in enough time to see 

John firing at a pair of those monsters coming threw the remains of a fractured nano wall

frame. His mouth was set in an open roar of rebellion as he fired at them, but there

was only silence reaching her ears. Then her vision blurred into blackness.

* * *

_Thank you all for reading, sorry it's taken so long for this chapter to be posted up but Christmas and all. Hope you all had a great Christmas and don't forget to get really drunk on New Year's Eve! Well enjoy reading while eating your turkey sandwiches and don't forget to **R&R**! _


	8. Chapter Eight: Evolved

**Chapter Eight: Evolved**

* * *

Tessa opened her eyes to be greeted by flickering lights and a ripped open door. The 

only sound was of the lights blinking madly and creaking metal as it contracted from the

cold. She turned her head to look at the ceiling to see streaks of bullet holes indented in

the piping that crossed over her head. Tessa sat up to see the infirmary had been trashed,

desks over turned, tubes of chemicals smashed and spilt on the floor, lab coats torn, _what _

_the hell happened in here?_ She put her hands on the back of her neck and leaned her

head back, closing her eyes, _felt like I've been asleep for the past week_. Hopping down

off the table she stopped, remembering something. She looked down at herself to see that

her once ripped open rib cage was completely healed, not even a scar. She ran a hand along

where the fatal wound had been, thinking of an explanation. Suddenly she shot her head up

and looked round with a mix of anger and desperation. _John, you didn't… did you?_

_

* * *

_  
John continued running, shooting at anything that moved, _because hay, let's face it, _

_none of them are gonna be human anymore_. He stops when he hears movement up

ahead the sound of tables being thrown around and walls being hit, hit by something big

and bad tempered. Looking up, he notices an open air vent, _save ammo, avoid being _

_eaten_. Letting go of his rifle to let it dangle down on its strap on his hip, he jumped up,

grabbed the edge of the vent and pulled himself in head first. Quietly, he started to crawl

down the vent, feeling his way threw the lightless, cramped pipe. He could hear the

frustrated creature below him, still smashing out its anger on the unmoving walls. John

used his hands to pull himself along, knowing his feet would cause too much noise and

he'd end up being the next thing to be subject of the monster's discontent. Suddenly a

pair of slimy strong hands burst up threw the venting behind him, grabbing his ankles

and pulling him down and out.

* * *

Tessa ran round the corner, rifle at the ready, to see one of the creature's on its tip-toes, 

attached to a pair of boots in a vent shaft. Gradually the monster was pulling John's legs

out too. John kicked at the thing and tried to turn his gun on it but the vent was too

small.

"John!"

Raising the rifle, taking a few seconds to aim, she shot the creature's arms off, following

by its head.

"John?"

He slid backwards out of the shaft and landed butt first on the corpse. She shook her

head, smiling, and pulled him up.

"Thanks."

"You're the one that's meant to be helping me."

He brushed himself off and looked at her carefully.

"No mutation. Must have worked."

"I dunno, I could just be a late starter."

"Either way I'm glad to see you."

There was a long moment when their eyes locked on each other and refused to move. If

they were attacked right at that very moment they wouldn't have noticed.

"So… maybe we should get moving?"

"Err…yeah, yeah we should defiantly… get moving."

The moment turned awkward. They both looked down and away, trying to find

something else to look at, for once, hoping that something would pop up out of nowhere

and attacked them so they wouldn't have to focus on the uncomfortable instant they'd

just put themselves in. No such luck, the corridor was empty and quiet. Tessa tightened

her grip on the assault rifle, remembering it was there and took a deep breath.

"Let's go."

She walked past him, finally letting her breath out once she'd passed by. _That man is too _

_damn good lookin'. Gotta focus on gettin' outta here, not gettin' _in_ somewhere_! John

lifted his own rifle and followed close behind.

* * *

They finally reached the Ark after what seemed a lifetime of awkward silence between 

them. Neither knew what to say and neither wanted to try and start the conversation first.

The Ark was dark, the lights flickering off and on, Sarge's corpse still in a bloodied heap

on the floor. It looked like it had been hit by a sledgehammer several times. Despite the

emptiness of the Ark, they still moved in warily, expecting another unseen attack. Tessa

walked out from under the catwalk first. She looked left; clear, right; clear, straight

ahead; clear, above… a powerful clawed hand swung down and grabbed her jacket,

yanking her up like a fisherman and his catch. The stitching in her jacket wasn't strong

enough to with stand being thrown about like it was and it ripped open, tossing Tessa

out of it like a gutted fish spilling its organs. Rolling to her feet, she reached to grab a

hold of her rifle to find it gone, it was dangling in the thing's hand with her shredded

jacket. John jumped up, grabbed the railing, and pulled himself over next to her.

Glancing at her before letting rip with his rifle, sending chunks of flesh and bone

splinters flying from it. Tessa pulled her compact shotgun into play and blew one of its

legs off. The creature finally hits the ground dead after having half a clip and three shells

emptied into it. There was a familiar sound of creaking metal from down the corridor

below on the opposite side of the Ark to them.

"What the hell is that?"

Leaning down to try to get a better look, Tessa noticed the elevator door's open, the

elevator to the surface, and a demon stepping inside!

"Oh you gotta be kiddin' me!"

Leaping over the railing, Tessa landed on her feet and started running. John followed,

looking to see the doors closing.

"Shit!"

He started emptying the rest of the clip into the elevator doors, trying to hit the creature.

The doors clapped shut, as if applauding his wasted efforts, and the elevator started

moving up, to the surface, to Earth, and all the juicy human beings it could bite on.

* * *

_I'd like everyone to know that when I've finished writing this I'll be putting up the re-mastered version, so all the little cock ups and etc. will be sorted. Thanks for reading so far! Enjoy! Don't forget to** R&R**! _


	9. Chapter Nine: Trapped

**Chapter Nine: Trapped**

* * *

"Fuck!"

Tessa skidded to a stop against the elevator doors. The humming sound of the elevator

gliding up the shaft drifted threw to them. No way to stop it now. John slammed his

fist on the door and dented it. She looked to him, understanding his aggravation to the

unfortunate circumstances they now found themselves in. he started pounding his fists

into the door, denting it deeper and deeper, his knuckles splitting open and healing

closed almost instantly after, leaving blood all over the door and his hands. The

vibrations from his punching bounced her off from leaning on the door.

"I'm not gonna let it get to the surface!"

"John…JOHN!"

He stopped on a final punch to the door, fists leaning, head down, panting from his

outburst.

"It's too late. We just gotta make sure we get up there pretty damn fast and kill the

motherfucker before he can find civilisation."

There was a long moment, tension hanging in the air like cobwebs. Both of them stood

motionless, the only thing that would have reminded an onlooker that it wasn't a

picture were the flickering lights.

"Damn it!"

Hitting the door one last time, John turned his back on the door and slumped down

against it, leaning his head back. _Shoulda blown the place when I had the chance._

Tessa pressed the elevator button then looked down each side of the stretched corridor,

then holstered her shotgun when she felt it was all clear. He sighed before standing up

and looking round himself, stopping when his eyes fell on her. _There are a hell of a lot _

_worse people to be stuck down here with._ She walked towards him, watching him as

he watched her. Reaching out, she wiped some blood spots off his cheek. _Can't spoil _

_the view. _Their eyes were locked together in an invisible embrace. Hours could have

passed in seconds as they stood, in that dark stinking hell hole deep underground.

Their breathing slowly started to match each other, the rest of the bloodied world

blotched out of sight, only their eyes shining hope in the gloom. After what seemed a

lifetime, John reached his hand up, grabbed a loose strand of hair dangling in front of

her face between two fingers, and lifted it gently, tucking it behind her ear. _Who _

_woulda thought a hardcore marine could be so gentle? _

"So… what's your name?"

Tessa blinked, snapping out of the entranced eye lock.

"Huh?.. Oh! Err… Tessa, yeah, Tessa Rains."

She put her hand out to shake, since they hadn't really had a proper introduction, he'd

just turned up and tagged along, _Thank God_.

"Are you sure?"

They both smiled. She stuck her tongue out at him in response, and received the same

gesture back. Tessa narrowed her eyes but kept her cheeky smile, before poking him

on the nose. John crossed his eyes to look at where he'd been poked, then in a split

second had poked her right back on the nose. _Right, like this is what toughened _

_marines do._

"Right. This means war."

Before he could respond, he'd been tackled to the floor, and now had Tessa sitting on

his chest with her arms folded in triumph.

"Ha!"

Taking a deep breath, he snorted sharply, jolting her off his chest. He sat up and

started assaulting her sides with tickling fingers. Wriggling like a worm in the clutches

of a bird, Tessa ran out of breath from all the laughter. Eventually, she managed to

grab his hands and pulled them round her, and lay down, leaning her head on his

chest. He merely glanced at her once, not minding the circumstances at all. Closing

her eyes, she took a deep breath, feeling happy in being able to stop and relax a little,

if only for a moment. _I don't need to be on guard round him, he's one of the few men _

_in this world that actually make me feel protected._

"Do I look like a bed to you?"

She opened her eyes sleepily, lifting her head to look at him.

"You're as comfy as one though."

He smiled before tickling her side one last time. She squeaked slightly, and

instinctively moved away from the source of irritation, and ended up rolling up to on

top of him. Leaning her head on his chest once again, she closed her eyes and got

comfy.

"I'm not a pillow either."

Tessa lifted her head up, opening her eyes, and looked at him. Her face mere

centimetres from his, noses almost touching. Their eyes locked again, but this time

they were both very aware of the circumstances, and the position they'd gotten into.

Her cheeks flushed red and she rolled off him and up to her feet quickly. _I am such a _

_fucking idiot, snap outta it woman!_

_Stop being so bloody fucking stupid man!_

John got to his feet slowly, trying to avoid making a noise, trying not to break the

awkward silence that had fallen on them like a wet towel. She stood with her back to

him, pretending to be on look out down the corridor.

"Wasn't expecting that."

_Defiantly wasn't expecting to meet a damn hot woman who could kick butt and survive _

_this place._

"Well, yeah, most people don't expect to get chased and eaten by monsters."

_Tell me about unexpected! I didn't imagine acting all girly and cutesy over some guy… _

_but what a guy! And not a jerk off either._

_

* * *

_  
**_ Happy Valentine's Day!_**_ Thank you to everyone who has **R&R**! And thank you to everyone who has been reading it! I'm sorry it's taken so long but I've got two major theatre productions coming up soon so I've been working on them. Chapter ten may take a little while, but don't worry, it will be coming soon! Don't forget to **R&R** because I love getting your opinions! Love you all, tar tar for now darlings! _(Sorry, but stereo-typical actors are just the funniest!)


	10. Chapter Ten: Elevated

**Chapter Ten: Elevated**

* * *

_Click click._ There was a quiet clicking sound echoing from deep within the facility.

John opened his eyes and glanced round, machine gun ready in hand. Tessa tightened

her grip on her rifle as she turned slowly, scanning through the darkness around them

both. They stopped when they had turned all the way to look at each other. No

blushing cheeks or awkward silence this time, they were all business. _Click click._ They

both pivoted where they stood to look in the direction of the sound. Their eyes locked

on each other again, Tessa made a hand signal for him to move forward to try and

flush whatever it was out and she'd be ready, covering his six. He nodded then locked

his eyes on the direction that he was moving in silently. _Click click clickety click. _

This time the clicking was closer and irritated, as if whatever was causing the sound

was annoyed with the invasion of its space. John edged forward, keeping his ears open

for that damned clicking. _Click… click._ The clicking grew quiet, muted as something

tried to stop making noise. John turned to the source of the last hushed clicks and

came across the beginning of a new corridor, somehow darker. Tessa kept her eyes

and rifle trained on Reaper, ready to rip a hole out of anything that tried to attack him.

_CLICK CLICK! _A large, muscularly mutated arm swung out and knocked John flying

back into the elevator doors. Tessa let off three short bursts from her rifle into the

corridor the arm had materialised from and then side stepped over to John and pulled

him up.

"You good to go?"

He rattled his head and got his feet under him, slightly disorientated from smacking

his head on the doors.

"Yeah, I'm good."

She looked at him fleetingly before letting go of his arm and taking hold of her rifle

properly again, watching the entrance to the corridor like a hound waiting for the

rabbit to pop its head out of its hole.

"Clearly not_ that_ good."

He looked at her, she was all chilled and trigger ready.

"Hay…"

A shadow flashed past and dipped into another, closer corridor. She tensed visibly under

her uniform. _This fucker's playin' us. _John looked to her. She gave yet more hand

signals for him to watch her six this time as she moved in on the target. Tessa walked

into the darkened junction of corridors ahead. She reached the new invaded corridor

and looked into the darkness spread in front of her. _Click… click… click._ She turned,

sweeping her rifle round to aim at the original corridor. Nothing. _CLICK!_ Her eyes

widened as she realized she'd been tricked by an echo. Silently she tensed her legs,

bending her knees slightly, readying. She could feel its breath on her neck, heated and

moist. Tessa glanced at John just before flipping up and back, landing on the

creature's broad shoulders. She squeezed its head between her feet and thrashed

herself into a twist, breaking its neck, then landing on her feet facing it and letting off

a short rifle burst into its neck. It slopped to the floor, in a black bloody dead mess.

John raised an eyebrow at her as she looked down at the deceased monster at her feet.

"You could have just turned and shot it in the head."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"And where would the fun be it in that?"

He shrugged as she walked over to him, rifle leant on her shoulder. The elevator doors

glided open as a metallic '_ding_' sounded quietly from above. John turned, gun raised

ready, and looked inside the elevator. Empty. Tessa merely continued walking, straight

past him, and into the lift. He followed close behind, wanting to get as far away from the

facility and the memories it held. She looked out one last time at the hell hole that had

killed her team, or worse, changed them into something demonic, and that had changed

her, she wasn't human anymore, but superhuman. Her eyes lowered to the floor and sank

into sad regret as John pressed the '_up_' button and the doors glided close. The gentle

humming of the elevator soaring up the shaft made it all seem very surreal and dreamy.

John looked at her, head still hung, eyes closed in a miserable frown. _Why? Why couldn't _

_someone else have this shit on their shoulders? WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO TO PISS _

_YOU OFF GOD!_ She loosened her frown and opened her eyes when she felt a pair of

eyes on her. John smiled softly at her, feeling her thoughts. She managed a smile back,

barely. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, maybe even a few words of

comfort but was swiftly interrupted by her sharp whispers.

"Why did you come after us? You could have just left us to it. To figure it out by

ourselves."

"I knew that if I hadn't you would have died."

"But it wasn't your problem."

"It is now."

"That's because you made it yours."

"Well I care about if people die."

At that moment her eyes lay on him like a wet blanket. So much was said in that one

look, so much that wasn't said, that couldn't be said.

"You're just like other people, Tessa, so I care."

_How did this guy even make it as a marine? He's too damn nice with all his caring and _

_shit._

"Nearly home."

Snapping out of her train of thought she looks at him then follows his eyes to see the

glass roof to the elevator, and the stars sparkling up top. She looked down at her rifle,

noting that she only had three bullets left in her final clip. John went about checking his

own guns and ammo. Throwing her rifle to the floor and pulling her shotgun free she

cocks it and looks at the doors blankly taking in a deep breath. After readying himself

with fresh clips he looks over to her. _She needs a long holiday after this, somewhere _

_relaxing, like the Bahamas._ Her eyes ached and almost seemed to creak like rusted

hinges as she blinked. She looked over at the marine next to her, dressed in civilian

clothing splattered with blood.

"You ready?"

John cocks his machine gun, loading a clean bullet into the chamber ready.

"Always."

They stared at each other for the last short moments they had left in the relative safety of

the elevator. There was a longing in both their eyes at that instant that they each saw in

the other. At that second they realised. The doors glided open followed by that same

overhead metallic '_ding_'.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Surfaced

**Chapter Eleven: Surfaced**

* * *

Tessa swept her rifle from left to right and up to down. Nothing. She kept her eyes

fixed on the outside, waiting to pick out any and every movement. John stepped out

first, cautiously edging out and spinning round to look at the roof of the elevator.

Nothing. As she stepped out after a clarifying nod from John she caught the drifting

smell of burning metal and oil. In the distance, only a little way off, the transport

helicopter that had brought her and her now deceased team in was crumpled up and

burning on the helipad.

"Shit."

He been so focused on checking for any surprise attacks from near the elevator that

even his twenty-fourth chromosome enhanced nose don't pick up on the burning

wreckage of the chopper until it knew it was all clear elsewhere. They both ran over to

the burnt out metal skeleton and looked as well as they could, the heat burning their

eyes, searching for the chard remains of the pilot. Nothing.

"We got another one."

"Damn it!"

John kicked a flaming wheel off into the horizon with frustration. _No matter how hard _

_I try those damn things keep multiplying. Their like fucking mutant rabbits!_ Suddenly

the burning wreckage shifts and rolls straight towards them.

"Fuck!"

They both dived out of the pathway of the rolling remains, to either side of it but while

John landed on his feet, Tessa landed on her side, the chopper just catching her feet as

she rolled, which knocked her off course. She was able to lift her head a few inches

off the ground before a slimy strong hand wrapped it's talons around her neck and

squeezed. The blood rushed from her head and her eyes felt as though they were about

to pop out of her skull from the pressure induced on her throat. On hand pathetically

pawed at the vice gripping hand, the other fingered for the nearest weapon. But she

was getting dizzy and the world around her was beginning to merge into one big

blurry nightmare. Tessa wheezed and kicked, futile as it was, at its stomach and

crotch, just trying to loosen its grip for a moment to swallow a gulp of air. Her fingers,

numb as they were starting to become, finally got a slight enough grip on her shotgun

to pull it free, and drop it. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK! This things gonna make my head _

_pop like a bloody balloon in a minute. NO! just gotta stay conscious, stay conscious!_

Unfortunately, her body was over taking her brain and she started blacking out, only a

thin tubular vision that was getting thinner and thinner, and darker and darker.

* * *

John got to his feet fast and looked over to see Tessa dangling in the grip of a creature,

all drool and teeth. All the colour had drained from her face and she was turning a

sickly corpse grey. The chopper slammed into the elevator doors and exploded.

Looking over, John saw the elevator frame still standing but was creaking and whining

at the rude nudge from its burning visitor. He looked back in time to see Tessa's boots

being dragged threw a hole in the perimeter fencing that surrounded the facility.

"TESSA!"

John sprinted after her and her slimy captor, letting out short sharp burst from his

machine gun. The creature seemed unbothered by the tickling of gun fire and suddenly

skidded to a stop. The cliff dropped a good hundred feet below. John did the same,

skidding to a stop, not wanting to knock into the monster and over balanced it, sending

it falling down with Tessa in hand. It turned, looking at John with its several shining

eyes. A smile spread across its mutated lipless mouth, a sinister smile not would make

even the strongest people cringe. And at that it lifted the unconscious Tessa up,

dangled her over the cliff for a moment and then let her drop.

* * *

Tessa floundered and splashed about for several seconds, disorientated from having

her neck freed and still not being able to breathe air. She was upside down and being

tossed around by the waves. When she finally reached the surface and gulped in some

long overdue oxygen it was just as quickly knocked out of her as she was slammed

into the jagged side of the cliff face. Her head, still inside out from the little oxygen

and too much battering, was slammed with the rest of her against those pointy rocks

several times before she finally comprehended what had gone on. Tessa grabbed one

of the rocks and swallowed in some more air. The salt water stung her eyes and her

entire body was aching. Suddenly a huge splash exploded in the water behind her and

sent more water in her already bloodshot eyes.

* * *

John gritted his teeth as Tessa fell. He knew if he tried to catch her he'd fail, and he

knew that if he'd tried to stop the creature he would have failed, but he still couldn't

stand the fact that it was happening all the same. A booming thunderous noise echoed

from inside the monster's chest, laughing at its own cruelty maybe, or at the effect it

had on the man in front of it. However, the creature was not expecting the reaction it

got. A full on tackle in the stomach from John. They both fell, John slamming his fists

and elbows and knees into the creature's chest and face as they did. He then went

about putting several bullets into the creature's several eyes. When the creature finally

stopped shrieking, he gripped onto it, keeping it at the bottom, so as to break his fall.

* * *

Tessa screwed her eyes shut and coughed when the great splashing explosion behind 

her had finished. Tear drops fell from the corners of her eyes as the salty sea water

stung at them ruthlessly. After a while she opened her eyes to look at the wet slimy

rock she was clinging to, to find another pair of arms and hands clung right next to

hers. She turned to see John coughing himself and blinking a lot. _How the hell did he _

_end up down here? _

"What? You expected me to just leave you down here on your own?"

_What! He's in my head now?_

As Tessa stared at him with questioning look, John stared up at the cliff face. After a

moment she shook her head, snapping out of her little fascinated trance.

"Explain what the _fuck_ just went on? If you don't mind."

His gazed dropped from the cliff wall to her. A mixed expression of confusion and

fascination was on her dripping face.

"You can't remember?"

"Well I was unconscious at the time."

Looking back up, John sharpened his eyes on the edge at the top of the cliff.

"John!"

Shaking his head he looked at her. _This boy's in the land of fairies._ Tessa rolled her

eyes and looked up herself to see what was so interesting. A black silhouette was

hanging its chest and neck-less head over the edge. _Not another one!_ As if in answer

to her thoughts a shrill roar echoed down to them and the silhouette vanished as

quickly as it had popped up. She looked back to John.

"You have _got_ to be kiddin' me."

"Looks like we haven't finished yet."

Sighing, they both pulled themselves up on top of the sea-weeded rock.

"Tess…"

They locked eyes at that moment, both raw and bloodshot from the onslaught of

seawater. Despite that, they both held each others gaze for a long moment, unaware

that either of them had already started climbing the long ascent of the cliff face.

"… I'll explain everything, later."

She smiled. _So he was listening after all._

"I know you will. Later. Let's go hunt some demon."


	12. Chapter Twelve: The Hunt Is On

**Chapter Twelve: The Hunt Is On**

* * *

Tessa pulled herself over the top of the cliff edge and breathed a sigh of relief. She

hated heights, at least, she did now. John threw himself up behind her and looked

round. No sign of their prey.

"Where should we start? Can't see or smell it anywhere."

They looked at each other hopelessly. _Where to start?_ Just as John looked for a trail or

any tracks to follow there was a screeching sound, like a car braking suddenly. They

glanced at each other urgently before sprinting to the source of the sound.

* * *

The stopped for a moment at the top of the hill to see a small road below, and a 

seemingly empty car stopped in the middle of it. They both made their way down

cautiously, Tessa uncomfortable aware she only had her pistol. All the car's doors

where swung wide open and smoke was rising from the engine. It was an old, battered

car that looked like it belonged in a museum rather than the roadside. There was blood

and bits of brain matter splattered over the windscreen and front chairs. John looked

back at her after checking all round the vehicle. Nothing. Whatever had made this

mess had gone somewhere else to make another.

"John. If that thing infects more people, the entire planet's population is going to be

screwed."

"You think I don't know that!"

She stared at him coldly, _there might be all hell breaking loose because of us but _

_there's no need to bite my fucking head off, that demon motherfucker can do that for _

_me!_ He sighed, leaning against the car, the wariness and exhaustion finally showing in

his face. He looked like he was going to collapse any minute and fall asleep. Tessa

walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. They both stayed quiet for a

moment, the breeze rustling the long grass along the roadside and beyond. Just at that

moment it didn't feel like the end of the human race, it felt like they should be sitting

on the beach with a picnic and watching the sunrise. _Maybe, one day…_

"John. We can't give up. It's not over until it's over."

His eyes rose to meet hers. _It's gonna be over pretty damn soon the way things are _

_going._ She slapped him round the face and put her hands on her hips, irritated. _I'm not _

_gonna let you give in if I can't. _

"Pull yourself together, marine!"

He looked at her, smirking. _Damn, I need a CO like her more often._ He stood himself

straight and nodded sharply at her.

"Let's move out!"

* * *

They started to run after the drag marks of blood until they came across a body torn to 

shreds, literally.

"Well, at least we don't have two on our hands."

* * *

Eventually they stopped on a man hole with its cover pulled off in the middle of the 

road. John jumped down first, scanning all round before shouting up for Tessa to come

down. It smelt of salt water and sewage but thankfully the flow of waste was only a

tiny trickle on the bottom curve of the round tunnel. Tessa and John couldn't help but

grimace at the stench. They branched off, Tessa taking the tunnel turning off to the

left, and John going straight.

* * *

_I'm gonna die down here._ All her fears came rushing at her when she could no longer 

hear John's slippery boot steps echoing to her from behind. _He could be dead or dying _

_somewhere in this fucking shit pipe and I'm gonna join him._ The tunnel seemed to

grow darker with every step she took. She froze on the spot when something shifted

from around the corner ahead. A shadow moved out of sight and some ripples

disturbed the trickle of dirty water. She lifted her feet out of the water carefully and

placed them on the driest part available before she continued edging forward. As she

got closer she started to silence her breathing, making as little sound as physically

possible. Once she reached the corner she stopped, readying herself for an assault,

focusing on the gun in her hand that felt futilely feeble compared to the sheer killing

force that was waiting for her around the corner. _Go down fighting, if you going to hell _

_your sure as fuck taking the son of a bitch with you. _She threw herself around the

corner and was stopped dead. The sound of dry bone scrapping along something sharp

but wet pierced her ears.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Is It Over?

**Chapter Thirteen: Is It Over?**

* * *

Tessa sat up abruptly in a cold sweat. Her lungs felt haggard, like she'd been running 

the perimeter of the whole of America. She looked round disorientated. She was in a

room, a hospital room and the lights in the room were off but a few shafts of light

shone across the ceiling from the corridor light outside. She could hear the bustle of

nurses and doctors talking outside about patients' medicines and injuries. Eventually

she gathered herself and pushed her denim jacket off her. She was sitting curled up in

a chair next to a quilt-wrapped bundle in the hospital bed beside her. The gentle

beeping and humming on machines was soothing and disturbing at the same time.

_Where the hell am I? Am I in hell!_ She stood slowly and looked at the unconscious

man and frowned miserably. _Now I remember._

_

* * *

Go down fighting, if you going to hell your sure as fuck taking the son of a bitch with _

_you. _She threw herself around the corner and was stopped dead. The sound of dry bone

scrapping along something sharp but wet pierced her ears. John was stood there, rifle

dangling from its strap. The creature stood there, staring at the man it'd just skewered

on its razor sharp bone claw. It'd gone right threw his chest and was poking out the

other side.

"John…"

The creature turned its head to look at her slowly, as if it hadn't meant to hurt him, as

if it was all a big fucked up accident.

"You bastard."

She continued staring at John in disbelief.

"You… BASTARD!"

Lifting her gun, she put several holes in the creature's head where it's many eyes

where. Before it had even hit the ground she had already dropped her gun and was

pulling John free, trying to keep herself calm as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His face screwed up in a grimace of agony and the colour had drained from his skin.

"John? John, please don't leave me. Please."

His eyes glazed and he felt limp in her arms. She couldn't control her tears as they fell

onto his cold face.

"Come on marine! Stay alive, that's an order Corporal!"

* * *

"John?" 

His eyes stirred slightly, flickering as if the light was too bright for him. Eventually

they opened to look up at Tessa's relieved face. The ceiling was white and the air was

filled with the smell of antibacterial hospital cleaner. _Where the fuck am I?_

"You're safe."

An uncontrollable smile spread over her face.

"Is it over?"

She leant down and kissed him gently on the lips. Her breath was warm and her lips

her soft. Finally he felt better. Tessa lifted her head up slightly so she could look into

his deep brown eyes.

"Some things are. But other things are just beginning."

* * *

**That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed reading it, please feel free to review so I know what you thought. Thanks tonnes to everyone who read and everyone who reviewed. Thanks loads!**


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